WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Wausau’s Human Resources Committee will consider the creation of a Communications Officer position for the city.
Mayor Katie Rosenberg says the position would be designed to provide a single point of contact for both residents and the media to get accurate information from the city. “During COVID-19 I was able to do a lot of communicating, but the expectations are a little bit different now as we have media reaching out all the time to react to a variety of different things.”
She says it can be a struggle to keep up with requests from both local and national media, and she doesn’t want to burden department heads with having to deal with all those responses as well. She notes that while those people are experts in their field, they don’t always know how to handle a press release or interview request.
“Getting the right responses to the media [in a] timely manner. I think that’s the main thing,” added Rosenberg.
Rosenberg says she wants the Communications Officer to focus on providing correct and clear information for residents and not just “market” the city. “I’m really focused on making sure the community has a resource that they can trust to get them the facts in a timely manner. Gather the facts and assemble a team to quickly respond to questions or concerns. That’s what I’m looking for, mostly.
“We have marketing. We have the [Convention and Visitor’s Bureau,] we have the Community Foundation and their marketing person. I need someone who can give out the facts,” she added.
The position would also include responsibility for updating the city’s new website, which will launch soon.
Discussion on the position is scheduled as part of today’s HR Committee meeting at 4:45 PM at City Hall.
Other topics Mayor Rosenberg discussed with WSAU’s Mike Leischner include:
Start of video- Water updates
7:50- Shared revenue update
10:45- Communications Officer proposal
14:40- Bull Falls Brewery sale
